One of the common difficulties encountered during the installation of electrical fixtures, particularly where the fixture is suspended from the ceiling of an enclosure, is the difficulty in supporting the fixture during the establishment of electrical connection to the electrical leads housed in an electrical junction box.
Whether installing an electrical fixture to a ceiling mounted junction box or to a wall mounted junction box, the electrician is required manually to hold the fixture temporarily while he joins the electrical lead wires housed in a previously installed electrical junction box to the electrical device carried by the fixture. It is difficult and clumsy to hold a fixture and, at the same time, connect the wires. This activity must be performed while the electrician installer must maintain balance often while standing upon a ladder at a distance from ground level. While in such precarious position, the electrician must stretch and reach above his head, in installing ceiling mounted fixtures, while maintaining such precarious position, guiding and feeding the connecting bolts into the threaded openings carried by the small tabs of the junction box, connecting the lead wires from the junction box to the electrical wires of the electrical device (as by tying their ends together and capping the connecting leads) and locating and guiding the bolt connectors which have been secured to the junction box to the openings (passages) formed in the electrical fixture. The manipulations required are difficult due to the minimum available space between the junction box and the fixture during the installation process, if the fixture were to be supported by coupling to said connecting bolts. Otherwise, during the conventional installation process, the fixture must be hand held temporarily by the electrician during the installation process. This procedure is difficult, clumsy and presents considerable danger to the electrician.
The connecting bolts conventionally may be pre-installed in the tabs carried by the junction box. In such installations, the fixture itself must be moved into position, aligned with and engaged with said connecting bolts. As the electrical connections have been made, and the electrical fixture is moved closer to the junction box, the view of the openings carried by the junction box which must be aligned with the said bolts, becomes at least partially blocked and often fully blocked from view. Likewise, the connecting bolts themselves, often become blocked from view by the fixture. This requires the electrician to probe, often "blindly", by touch sensitivity and trial and error, to locate and align the fixture openings with the connecting bolts-all at the same time maintaining balance, supporting the fixture with one hand and manipulating both fixture and connecting bolt.
The problem to which the invention is directed has been recognized for some time but fails to come up with any device which is capable of supporting the fixture temporarily during the installation stage, leaving sufficient space between the fixture and the electrical junction box so as to facilitate establishment of the electrical connection, as well as serving to align the respective holes in the fixture and junction box tabs, to guide the fixture into position for permanent attachment to the junction box. It would be most helpful further to provide means which can also function permanently to attach the fixture to the junction box, position the fixture in completed installation condition and as well to guide the junction box into such position, facilitating completion of the installation. Of course, the fixture installation means provided should enable substantial reduction in the installation cost and time of installation while materially reducing the incidence of accidental fall and accompanying injury to the one performing the installation.
One example of an early prior approach to the installation of electrical fixtures to ceiling mounted junction boxes or the like include U.S. Pat. No. 1,690,941 to Nickerson, which discloses an annulus engagable with a lamp socket carried by the fixture and a bracket securable on a depending stud carried by the outlet box. The bracket includes depending toothed legs and the annulus includes resilient engaging means such as a slide for receiving the legs of the bracket. No means are provided by Nickerson which temporarily hold the fixture while wiring takes place. The adjustability of the Nickerson means is limited.
Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 1,129,024, had suggested the use of an elongate adjusting screw to enable internal wiring to be achieved prior to positioning of the fixture base to the junction box but afforded no means for temporarily supporting the fixture during the wiring process leaving the hands free to accomplish the wiring. The problems involved in the wiring process was recognized by Smith but the solution was left wanting.
Littleton, U.S. Pat. No. 1,129,024, also clearly delineated the problems but offered a solution by providing a slotted bar carrying depending adjusting screws and a vertical toothed bar slidably engaged through the slot, the bar being carried by a threaded cup engagable on a nipple extending into the junction box. Raising and lowering of the fixture is accomplished by manipulation of the adjusting screws. However, no temporary support is provided for the fixture as taught by Littleton.
The Zientowski et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,671,821 discloses holding means comprising a threaded sleeve mounted on an elevated stud, the sleeve carrying a hook which is coupled to a cooperative hook carried by the fixture. The junction box is provided with an electric plug receptacle for receiving an electrical plug leading to the lighting unit. The fixture canopy can be lowered sufficiently to seat the electrical plug in the receptacle and the sleeve manipulated to raise the fixture. However, this combination is very expensive, difficult to use and still would not leave enough space free to enable the wiring connections to be made and secured properly. Additionally, its use is limited to installation of merely a few, highly speciallized fixtures.
Buckels, U.S. Pat. No. 2,808,172, provides an extension which is mounted to the interior of a wall mounted outlet box and extends thereacross. The extension is provided with a drilled and tapped hole serving as a switch mounting, the extension being provided with plural scores spaced therealong so that when properly installed, excess portions of the extension can be broken off so as to avoid contact with the electical wires interior of the box. Again, no provision is made which could be applied in the installation of an electrical fixture temporarily to support same during installation yet be capable of functioning permanently to secure the fixture to junction box subsequent to the completion of the wiring process.
Wolar U.S. Pat. No. 2,967,928, provides a support for elements of a lighting fixture such as a globe, which facilitates cleaning, removal and replacement of the globe but which does not contribute to teachings to providing temporary support for the fixture during the process of wiring same to a ceiling mounted electrical junction box. The means provided by Wolar comprises a hanger including a L-shaped bracket member having a horizontal leg and a vertically disposed leg. A threaded rod extends through the horizontal leg for attachment to a bracket inturn secured to the fixture. A second leg is slidably attached to the L-shaped leg. The globe can be lowered along the threaded rod so as to gain access to the lamp. However, access to the junction box is not provided, nor is there any provision offered for holding the fixture temporarily during the wiring process.
More recently, Propp et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,067, provides support for a load support member but does not approach a solution to the problem of supporting a load temporarily while sufficient access is provided for enabling manipulation, say of wires at a location above the load being supported which manipulation would have to take place without visible access to the elements being manipulated, such visibility being blocked by the load.